Best martial arts for self defense

[Anonymous]

My 8 year old is getting bullied at school horribly. We are trying to handle things on that front but I would like to also get him into a martial arts program to build his self confidence and also to help him gain skills to protect himself from an aggressor. He is not aggressive in the slightest and isn’t drawn to anything in particular. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Petite DD did taekwondo until she got her black belt at 16. You need to find a great empowering teacher/leader. I loved that even as a five year old she learned to use a strong voice to say “Stop!”. At 16 she moved on to Krav Maga.

However, regardless, you must address the bullying with the school and the other parents. Do not let this go unaddressed by the school and teachers and parents.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Which studio did you use?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. Which studio did you use?

We’re in Los Angeles so no help to you.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live, OP? John Rhee is the gold standard for TKD in Virginia.

[Anonymous]

The majority of martial arts schools these days are kid-oriented. They teach self-assertive behavior and anti bullying as part of the curriculum.

Learning a martial art well enough to use it for self defense takes several years. Even with skilled technique, size, weight and strength are still factors, and anybody who tells you otherwise is lying. That being said, there are basic defensive techniques that are pretty easy to learn and can be effective, especially if the bully doesn’t know they’re coming.

For a young child, the specific art probably matters less than the teacher (who is going to help the student develop more confidence and a greater sense of self worth) and the student body (which can provide a non-school circle of friends where there is automatically a common interest).

“Real” Karate (be it Japanese, Okinawan or Korean) can be devastating. But that’s not what you’re going to get from a strip mall school aimed at kids.

To my mind, the most effective schools are ones where the students get to practice real techniques in a controlled way. Two good examples are Judo (an Olympic sport, exemplified by arm-bar Rhonda Rousey) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (which is the basis for what the Marines are teaching these days). If your kid decides he’s tired of being a victim and lands a solid shot on the other kid with a Karate hand or foot technique, there might be blood or broken bones or teeth involved and your kid will be at risk of getting in trouble for too much force. With a grappling art, all the other kid can say is “Billy tripped me and twisted my arm.”

Most martial arts schools teach some grappling, tripping, throwing and joint locking, but if you can find one that specializes in those and is good with kids, that might be a good choice.

Good luck. It is terrible to see your child pushed around.

[Anonymous]

Boxing. Most bullies won’t be able to take a punch

[Anonymous]

Martial arts aren’t talk to kids in this aggressive fashion. There’s just no practical way to do it. No one is going to be comfortable with the hand to hand grappling inspiring that would be needed to get a child up to a level where he could beat up his bullies ninja style. That said, martial arts is beneficial because generally the proprietors are good with kids and have lots of experience teaching self-confidence, discipline, assertiveness, and a certain familiarity with being hit. As women, what we see in movies is women being hit or grabbed and freaking out in terror. As a woman who trained in martial arts, you can count on me trying to hit back and get away, and recall some of the soft areas like the eyes, the groin, etc. your kiddo will pick up these skills after some time. In a bullying situation, I think the immediate benefit is that the instructor can help the child work out some strategies, like yelling “no” loudly or “stop that” loudly and giving him a voice and some confidence. So sorry for what you were going through, that totally sucks. Best wishes to you and your kiddo.

[Anonymous]

Female martial artist here again, just wanted to add that I agree that Brazilian jujitsu and judo are the best for hand to hand combat. Hopefully, children will not ever get close enough to your son that he would need such martial arts. But I think that’s the best martial art for a street fight. Also if you were looking for a school recommendation, Urban Kempo in Clarendon is great. The owner is amazing. Although I don’t love that martial art personally! I was trained in taekwondo, which set me up for a good foundation with things like how to throw a punch and some fundamental kicks. But it’s not a grappling style martial art that you would use in a street fight.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful responses. He seems to like the idea of judo. Anyone familiar with a group teaching this for kids in Nova? The ones I’ve found are for adults or are for children but not focused on judo.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry OP. I’ve been thinking the same because our 7 year son is dealing with this too.
Just curious — is the school doing anything about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you so much for all your thoughtful responses. He seems to like the idea of judo. Anyone familiar with a group teaching this for kids in Nova? The ones I’ve found are for adults or are for children but not focused on judo.

I have no experience with it but there’s a place called sportjudo in Springfield.

[Anonymous]

It looks like Sportjudo takes them as young as 7.

[Anonymous]

Pentagon mma in Arlington teaches a karate- nut thai-jujitsu style kids class.